Shloka 6
Adhyāya 240: Indriya–Manas–Buddhi–Ātman — The Inner Hierarchy and Restraint (इन्द्रिय-मनस्-बुद्धि-आत्म-क्रमः)
धृत्या शिक्षोदरं रक्षेत् पाणिपादं च चक्षुषा
dhṛtyā śiśnodaraṁ rakṣet pāṇipādaṁ ca cakṣuṣā | sattvasaṁsevanād dhīro nidrām ucchettum arhati ||
धृत्या शिश्नोदरं रक्षेत् पाणिपादं च चक्षुषा, सत्त्वसंसेवनाद् धीरो निद्रामुच्छेत्तुमर्हति॥
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
Guard the roots of misconduct—sexual impulse and appetite—through fortitude; keep actions (hands and feet) under the supervision of awareness (the eyes); and cultivate sattva to overcome sleep as lethargy and negligence, thereby sustaining dharmic conduct.
In Śānti Parva’s instruction on right living and inner discipline, Vyāsa delivers a practical regimen of self-restraint: regulate bodily appetites, monitor outward actions, and refine the mind through sattvic cultivation so that one becomes vigilant and ethically steady.